On Jan. 20, 2017, President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence took their first official steps in leading the White House and new administration. President Trump and his administration wasted no time in enacting key pieces of their campaign promises; they are already setting the leadership agenda for the United States of America.
On his first day, his nominee, retired General James Mattis, was approved as Secretary of Defense. Retired General, John F. Kelly, was also approved as Secretary of Homeland Security. President Trump also issued an executive order to scale back parts of the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare. Focusing on the housing situation, Trump halted a cut to President Obama’s Federal Housing Administration (FHA) mortgage insurance premium. All this activity took place inside the White House, amidst a mass protest of the new president. Protest led to 217 arrests and six police officers being injured. Pleasant Valley High School senior, Ezra Kropf, reflected on the circumstances and offered his opinion. “There’s a fine line between standing up for what you believe is right, and unwarranted vandalism and rioting.”
On the following Monday, which was his first full weekday in office, President Trump signed three executive orders. The first withdrew the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a trade partnership across countries in the Asian and Pacific regions. His second order reinstated the so-called “Mexico City Policy” which deals with limiting funds to international groups that support abortion. His third order was a “hiring freeze” for some, non-military, federal workforces.
On Tuesday, President Trump was again busy, signing five executive orders. Two of them reversed President Obama administration’s halt on the Keystone XL and Dakota access oil pipelines. The Dakota Pipelines recently have been the subject of chaotic protests by the Standing Rock Native American tribe. President Trump says these projects will result in over 28,000 jobs. He also signed a bill requiring that the pipelines to use domestic steel in their construction, once again holding true to his campaign promise.
Toward the end of his first week, President Trump issued an executive order directing the Department of Homeland Security to begin construction of a wall along the Mexico/United States border, fulfilling his campaign process. As reported by Fox News, he would, “build a great wall, and nobody builds walls better than me, believe me, and I’ll build them very inexpensively.” His plans also include increased border patrol and immigration officers. Pleasant Valley High School senior Sophie Marchiori shared her thoughts on our nation’s security. She stated, “I hope Trumps’ ideas for border control security leads to a safer America.”
Lastly, President Trump made plans to reduce grant funding to sanctuary cities and make key changes to deportation standards. Even President Trump’s biggest critics would be honest to admit that President Trump had a very busy week toward fulfilling his campaign promises.
